The present invention relates to an antibacterial dishwashing cleaning wipe which is single or multi layer fabric substrate which has been impregnated with a liquid cleaning composition.
The patent literature describes numerous wipes for both body cleaning and cleaning of hard surfaces but none describe wipes for cleaning dishware flatware, pots and pans. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,980,931, 6,063,397and 6,074,655 teach a substantially dry disposable personal cleansing product useful for both cleansing and conditioning the skin and hair. U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,149 teaches a disposable wiping article having a substrate comprising multiple layers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,756,612; 5,763,332; 5,908,707; 5,914,177; 5,980,922 and 6,168,852 teach cleaning compositions which are inverse emulsions.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,183,315 and 6,183,763 teach cleaning compositions containing a proton donating agent and having an acidic pH. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,863,663; 5,952,043; 6,063,746 and 6,121,165 teaches cleaning compositions which are oil in water emulsions.
A single use cleaning wipe for dishwashing application comprises a water insoluble substrate, impregnated with an antibacterial cleaning composition containing at least 20 wt. % of a mixture of at least three anionic surfactants, a proton donating agent, a zwitterionic surfactant, polyethylene glycol and water.
The liquid antibacterial cleaning compositions of this invention are not an emulsion and do not contain an ethoxylated nonionic surfactant, potassium sorbate, a polysaccharide polymer, a polycarboxylate polymer, polyvinyl alcohol polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer, methyl vinyl ether polymer or a glucoside surfactant
The present invention relates to a cleaning wipe for dishware, flatware, pots and pans which comprises approximately:
(a) 20 wt. % to 95 wt. % of a water insoluble substrate; and
(b) 5 wt. % to 80 wt. % of a liquid antibacterial cleaning composition being impregnated in said water insoluble substrate, wherein said liquid cleaning composition comprises:
(i) 7 wt. % to 16 wt. % of an alkali metal salt of an anionic sulfonated surfactant;
(ii) 6 wt. % to 15 wt. % of an alkali metal salt or ammonium salt of an ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfate anionic surfactant;
(iii) 0.1 wt. % to 4 wt. % of a zwitterionic surfactant;
(iv) 7 wt. % to 16 wt. % of an alkaline earth metal salt of a sulfonated anionic surfactant;
(v) 0.5 wt. % to 8 wt. % of a polyethylene glycol;
(vi) 0.1% to 4 wt. % of a proton donating agent; and
(vii) the balance being water, wherein the composition does not contain an ethoxylated nonionic surfactant, potassium sorbate, a polysaccharide polymer, a polycarboxylate polymer, polyvinyl alcohol polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer, polyethylene glycol polymer, methyl vinyl ether polymer or glucoside surfactant and the antibacterial cleaning composition has a Gram Positive Residual Effective Index as measured by the method set forth in U.S. Pat. 6,284,259 of less than 0.35, preferably less than 0.3.
Suitable water-soluble non-soap, anionic surfactants used in the instant compositions include those surface-active or detergent compounds which contain an organic hydrophobic group containing generally 8 to 26 carbon atoms and preferably 10 to 18 carbon atoms in their molecular structure and at least one water-solubilizing group selected from the group of sulfonate, sulfate and carboxylate so as to form a water-soluble detergent. Usually, the hydrophobic group will include or comprise a C8-C22 alkyl, alkyl or acyl group. Such surfactants are employed in the form of water-soluble salts and the salt-forming cation usually is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, ammonium, magnesium and mono-, di- or tri-C2-C3 alkanolammonium, with the sodium, magnesium and ammonium cations again being preferred.
Examples of suitable sulfonated anionic surfactants are the well known higher alkyl mononuclear aromatic sulfonates such as the higher alkyl benzene sulfonates containing from 10 to 16 carbon atoms in the higher alkyl group in a straight or branched chain, C8-C15 alkyl toluene sulfonates and C8-C15 alkyl phenol sulfonates.
A preferred sulfonate is a mixture of an alkali metal ammonium salt and an alkaline earth metal salt of a linear alkyl benzene sulfonate having a high content of 3-(or higher) phenyl isomers and a correspondingly low content (well below 50%) of 2-(or lower) phenyl isomers, that is, wherein the benzene ring is preferably attached in large part at the 3 or higher (for example, 4, 5, 6 or 7) position of the alkyl group and the content of the isomers in which the benzene ring is attached in the 2 or 1 position is correspondingly low.
Other suitable anionic surfactants are the olefin sulfonates, including long-chain alkene sulfonates, long-chain hydroxyalkane sulfonates or mixtures of alkene sulfonates and hydroxyalkane sulfonates. These olefin sulfonate detergents may be prepared in a known manner by the reaction of sulfur trioxide (SO3) with long-chain olefins containing 8 to 25, preferably 12 to 21 carbon atoms and having the formula RCHxe2x95x90CHR1 where R is a higher alkyl group of 6 to 23 carbons and R1 is an alkyl group of 1 to 17 carbons or hydrogen to form a mixture of sultones and alkene sulfonic acids which is then treated to convert the sultones to sulfonates. Preferred olefin sulfonates contain from 14 to 16 carbon atoms in the R alkyl group and are obtained by sulfonating an xcex1-olefin.
Other examples of suitable anionic sulfonate surfactants are the paraffin sulfonates containing 10 to 20, preferably 13 to 17, carbon atoms. Primary paraffin sulfonates are made by reacting long-chain alpha olefins and bisulfites and paraffin sulfonates having the sulfonate group distributed along the paraffin chain are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,503,280; 2,507,088; 3,260,744; 3,372,188; and German Patent 735,096.
Examples of satisfactory anionic sulfate surfactants are the alkali metal or ammonium salt C8-C18 alkyl sulfate salts the ethoxylated C8-C18 alkyl ether sulfate salts having the formula R(OC2H4)n OSO3M wherein n is 1 to 12, preferably 1 to 5, and M is a metal cation selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, ammonium, magnesium and mono-, di- and triethanol ammonium ions. The alkyl sulfates may be obtained by sulfating the alcohols obtained by reducing glycerides of coconut oil or tallow or mixtures thereof and neutralizing the resultant product.
On the other hand, the ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfates are obtained by sulfating the condensation product of ethylene oxide with a C8-C18 alkanol and neutralizing the resultant product. The alkyl sulfates may be obtained by sulfating the alcohols obtained by reducing glycerides of coconut oil or tallow or mixtures thereof and neutralizing the resultant product. The ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfates differ from one another in the number of moles of ethylene oxide reacted with one mole of alkanol. Preferred alkyl sulfates and preferred ethoxylated alkyl ether sulfates contain 10 to 16 carbon atoms in the alkyl group.
The ethoxylated C8-C12 alkylphenyl ether sulfates containing from 2 to 6 moles of ethylene oxide in the molecule also are suitable for use in the inventive compositions. These surfactants can be prepared by reacting an alkyl phenol with 2 to 6 moles of ethylene oxide and sulfating and neutralizing the resultant ethoxylated alkylphenol.
Other suitable anionic surfactants are the C9-C15 alkyl ether polyethenoxyl carboxylates having the structural formula R(OC2H4)nOX COOH wherein n is a number from 4 to 12, preferably 5 to 10 and X is selected from the group consisting of
CH2, (C(O)R1
and 
wherein R1 is a C1-C3 alkylene group. Preferred compounds include C9-C11 alkyl ether polyethenoxy (7-9) C(O) CH2CH2COOH, C13-C15 alkyl ether polyethenoxy (7-9) 
and C10-C12 alkyl ether polyethenoxy (5-7) CH2COOH. These compounds may be prepared by condensing ethylene oxide with appropriate alkanol and reacting this reaction product with chloracetic acid to make the ether carboxylic acids as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,911 or with succinic anhydride or phthalic anhydride. Obviously, these anionic surfactants will be present either in acid form or salt form depending upon the pH of the final composition, with salt forming cation being the same as for the other anionic surfactants.
The polyethylene glycol is depicted by the formula:
HO"Parenopenst"CH2xe2x80x94CH2O"Parenclosest"nH
wherein n is about 8 to about 225, more preferably about 10 to about 100,000, wherein the polyethylene glycol has a molecular weight of about 200 to about 1,000. One preferred polyethylene glycerol is PEG1000 which is a polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of about 1000.
The proton donating agent is selected from the group consisting of inorganic acids such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid and hydroxy containing organic acid, preferably a hydroxy aliphatic acid, wherein the hydroxy contains organic acid is selected from the group consisting of lactic acid or citric acid, orthohydroxy benzoic acid or glycolic acid and mixtures thereof.
The water-soluble zwitterionic surfactant (betaine), which is used in the instant cleaning composition and provides good foaming properties and mildness to the composition. The zwitterionic surfactant is a water soluble betaine having the general formula: 
wherein Xxe2x88x92is selected from the group consisting of SO3xe2x88x92 and CO2xe2x88x92 and R1 is an alkyl group having 10 to about 20 carbon atoms, preferably 12 to 16 carbon atoms, or the amido radical: 
wherein R is an alkyl group having about 9 to 19 carbon atoms and a is the integer 1 to 4; R2 and R3 are each alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbons and preferably 1 carbon; R4 is an alkylene or hydroxyalkylene group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and, optionally, one hydroxyl group. Typical alkyldimethyl betaines include decyl dimethyl betaine or 2-(N-decyl-N, N-dimethyl-ammonia) acetate, coco dimethyl betaine or 2-(N-coco N, N-dimethylammonia) acetate, myristyl dimethyl betaine, palmityl dimethyl betaine, lauryl dimethyl betaine, cetyl dimethyl betaine, stearyl dimethyl betaine, etc. The amidobetaines similarly include cocoamidoethylbetaine, cocoamidopropyl betaine and the like. A preferred betaine is coco (C8-C18) amidopropyl dimethyl betaine.
The water is present in the composition at a concentration of about 5 wt. % to 70 wt. %.
The cleaning composition of this invention may, if desired, also contain other components either to provide additional effect or to make the product more attractive to the consumer. The following are mentioned by way of example: Antibacterial agents such as 2,4,4xe2x80x2-trichloro-2xe2x80x2hydroxydiphenyl ether colors or dyes in amounts up to 0.5% by weight; pH adjusting agents, such as sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide, can be used as needed.
Preservatives which can be used in the instant compositions at a concentration of 0.005 wt. % to 3 wt. %, more preferably 0.01 wt. % to 2.5 wt. % are: benzalkonium chloride; benzethonium chloride,5-bromo-5-nitro-1,3dioxane; 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol; alkyl trimethyl ammonium bromide; N-(hydroxymethyl)-N-(1,3-dihydroxy methyl-2,5-dioxo-4-imidaxolidinyl-Nxe2x80x2-(hydroxy methyl) urea; 1-3-dimethyol-5,5-dimethyl hydantoin; formaldehyde; iodopropynl butyl carbamata, butyl paraben; ethyl paraben; methyl paraben; propyl paraben, mixture of methyl isothiazolinone/ methyl-chloroisothiazoline in a 1:3 wt. ratio; mixture of phenoxythanol/butyl paraben/methyl paraben/propylparaben; 2-phenoxyethanol; tris-hydroxyethyl-hexahydrotriazine; methylisothiazolinone; 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one; 1,2-dibromo-2, 4-dicyanobutane; 1-(3-chloroalkyl)-3,5,7-triaza-azoniaadamantane chloride; and sodium benzoate. PH adjusting agents such as sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide can be used as needed.
The product of the present invention comprises a water insoluable substrate with one or more layers. Each layer may have different textures and abrasiveness. Differing textures can result from the use of different combinations of materials or from the use of different manufacturing processes or a combination thereof. A dual texture substrate can be made to provide the advantage of a more abrasive side for cleaning difficult to remove soils. A softer side can be used for fine dishware and flatware. The substrate should not dissolve or break apart in water. It is the vehicle for delivering the cleaning composition to dishware, flatware, pots and pans. Use of the substrate enhances lathering, cleaning and grease removal.
A wide variety of materials can be used as the substrate. It should have sufficient wet strength, abrasivity, loft and porosity. Examples include, non woven substrates, wovens substrates, hydroentangled substrates and sponges.
Examples of suitable non woven water insoluable substrates include, 100% cellulose Wadding Grade 1804 from Little Rapids Corporation, 100% polypropylene needlepunch material NB 701-2.8-W/R from American Non-wovens Corporation, a blend of cellulosic and synthetic fibres-Hydraspun 8579 from Ahistrom Fibre Composites, and and0% Viscose/30% PES Code 9881 from PGI Nonwovens Polymer Corp.
Another useful substrate is manufactured by Jacob Holm-Lidro Rough. It is a composition material comprising a 65/35 viscose rayon/polyester hydroentangled spunlace layer with a hydroenlongated bonded polyeser scribbly layer.
Still another useful substrate is manufactured by Texel. It is a composite material manufactured from a layer of coarse fiber 100% polypropylene needlepunch, an absorbent cellulose core and a fine fiber polyester layer needlepunched together. The polypropylene layer can range from 1.5 to 3.5 oz/sq. yd. The cellulose core is a creped paper layer ranging from 0.5 to 2 oz./sq. yd. The fine fiber polyester layer can range from 0.5 to 2 oz./sq. yd.
The product of the present invention comprising multiple layers may be ultrasonically bonded after applying the coating of one or more of the layers. Alternatively layers may be bonded together by needlepunch, thermal bonding, chemical bonding, or sonic bonding prior to applying the coating.
The following examples illustrate liquid cleaning compositions of the described invention. Unless otherwise specified, all percentages are by weight. The exemplified compositions are illustrative only and do not limit the scope of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, the proportions in the examples and elsewhere in the specification are by weight.